Review: "Audience of One"

By Lindsay Eanet

Published Feb. 29, 2008

In 1994, at the tender age of 40, Pastor Richard Gazowsky saw his first feature film. It was Walt Disney's "The Lion King."

More than a decade later, Gazowsky said God spoke to him, commanding him to make a million-dollar science fiction blockbuster, a combination of "The Ten Commandments" and "Star Wars." The film, "Gravity: The Shadow of Joseph" would be a futuristic retelling of the biblical story of Joseph. First-time director Michael Jacobs, with great care and compassion, follows Gazowsky through his creative process.

Watching Gazowsky's imagination unfold is a wonder to watch in and of itself, especially as he coaches the amateur actors or edits nuances in the script. While at times his ideas seem irrational or impossible or outright crazy, you can't really help but root for him. In the rare instances where his vision starts to play out, with fully-costumed extras on location in a small Italian town or intricate models or bits and pieces of the script, there is a sense that he might be able to pull something off--there is a sudden sense of empathy towards Gazowsky where normally ridicule would reign. While the congregation at his San Francisco-based Pentecostal church plays an important role as the members of his Christian WYSIWYG Film Company (The name, of course, is an acronym for "What You See Is What You Get"), the film is really a character study about Gazowsky and his quest to make the movie.

There is a certain sense of scrutiny when watching the tensions that develop from the process--Gazowsky's unwillingness to help with technical problems and clashes with overworked personnel and Italian extras. The other side of Pastor Gazowsky is shown without mercy.

But what redeems his character is seen not in tactics, but in his intentions, in the enthusiasm of those who believe in the project. Daniel Herrera, a forklift operator and a member of Gazowsky's congregation, is chosen to be an actor in the movie. One of the most touching moments Jacobs captures is in Herrera's interview, where his eyes light up as he talks about being an actor. It's clear that Gazowsky is pure in his purpose, not seeking to rip anyone off despite his manipulative tendencies. The result is a complicated picture of a creative man on the edge: what you see is what you get.

The only thing the film notably lacks is the perspective of the "outsiders," those who witness but are not directly involved in Gazowsky's mission. A brief interview with San Francisco film journalist Arne Johnson about the film company's shoddy reputation within the local film community--particularly union members--is a welcome exception, but more perspectives from the outside-looking-in to Gazowsky's bizarre universe could have made for an interesting pull.

Overall though, Jacobs's efforts are welcome and refreshing. What could have been received as another film that puts religious individuals--in particular, Christians--in a fishbowl for scrutiny and exploitation succeeded in avoiding that trap. Sure, the audience may laugh at Gazowsky's outrageously ambitious claims (His "Eight Arrows" plan for the church includes the first colony on another planet, for example), but this is no fault of the director's. His compassion for the subjects of his film is shown in the final scene, where the congregation sits rapt, listening to his eight-point plan and pondering with great optimism the possibilities of the imagination, the capacity in all of us, religious or not, to do something totally epic.